


An Unseen Pain

by The_Master



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 19:10:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18947089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Master/pseuds/The_Master
Summary: The Master faces demons  in his sleep and opens up to the Doctor about his time on Gallifrey after being sucked into the time-lock at the end of their last meeting.





	An Unseen Pain

_THE DOCTORS POV_

“There’s a free room upstairs, three doors on your left. It’s the only one we can spare, but it should accommodate the three of you comfortably enough for a night.” One of the house residents said to the three Time Lords. The Doctor looked around at the pair standing behind him; Missy continued to look at her nails, looking board; and the Master looked disgusted, wait, was that a flash of fear that the Doctor saw pass over the Masters face, but it was so quick, he had probably just imagined it. Afterall, what did the Master have to fear from them? “Alright, it’s getting late, let’s go” he said, heading the two uncooperative Time Lords in the direction of the room they had been assigned. The Doctor had opened the door to the room, it was spacious enough; with one bed, a chair and a table, on top of which was a pile of folded blankets. During the time he had spent observing the room the Doctor noticed that Missy had made herself comfortable on the bed and the Master was seated in the corner of the room in a nest of blankets staring out the window, as if deep in thought. The Doctor took a blanket for himself and reclined back as comfortably as the hard, wooden floor would allow him. He closed his eyes in an attempt to get some rest, neither of his room mates would try to kill him during the night, it wasn’t there style. Of this the Doctor was sure. He took some comfort from that fact and allowed himself to drift into sleep.

The Doctor stayed perfectly still as his brain slowly began to wake up, his time sense telling him that it was still night, so what had woken him then? He pondered this for a while, until a small whimper broke the still silence of the room. The Doctor opened his eyes and sat up, again came the small sound of pain and fear. Now he was sure it had come from the Master, the air suddenly felt thick with the same fear the Doctor had briefly sensed from him earlier, only much stronger.

The Doctor looked to his right, where Missy slept soundly on the bed, undisturbed by the nocturnal struggles of her younger self. With a sigh he got up and made his way over to the corner, in which the Master fought with an invisible force. He cried out again, his face scrunched up as if he were experiencing a great pain. He had to wake him, on matter how despicable, on one deserved that kind of pain. The Master would be furious with himself if he found out that he had seen his vulnerability, but he was the Doctor and he couldn’t allow his once best friend turned enemy (who had saved him on their last encounter) to re-live whatever terrible scene was playing out behind his closed eyes right now. The Doctor took hold of the others shoulders, attempting to shake him awake. But whatever awful reality that flashed behind the Master’s eyes had a strong hold of him. The Doctor sat back, contemplating what could cause such a fearful reaction from the Master. The conqueror of civilisations, a man who could watch a planet filled with innocent people burn without a spark of remorse. He had an idea, not the best one, but it couldn’t make the situation worse. Maybe, just maybe if he could get the Master to recognise him voice, the Time Lord would wake from whatever dream prison he was caught in. He leaned closer so that he could whisper into the Masters ear. “Master. It’s me, it’s the Doctor, I need you to wake up!” and with that the Master was sitting bolt upright, eyes wide, staring straight ahead, as if the image of his dream had not quite faded.  The Doctor reached out to touch his arm in an attempt to being him back to reality, but when he made contact the Master hissed, as if he had been burned and scrambled into the corner to get away from him.

Never would the Doctor have believed that the quivering man in the corner was the universally feared conqueror worlds and evil genius if he had not seen it for himself. This must have been the reason  for the Masters anxieties over spending the night in such close quarters with two other Time Lords. Of course, he thought, the all-powerful (as he liked to think himself) Master was afraid that his weaknesses would show while he was not in full control.

 

_THE MASTERS POV_

As his senses slowly returned, the first thing the Master noticed was the Doctor sat in front of him, his face the picture of concern. He felt the urge to wipe that look off his adversaries face. But in that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to move, not yet. The next thing he noticed was a strange dampness on the sides of his face, tears his brain supplied. The Doctor had seen him cry. A sign of weakness meant to have been thoroughly drummer out of before he left the Academy. He drew an arm up to wipe away the evidence and as he did so he caught a glimpse of the Doctors eyes. Which held a sympathy (that this Doctor didn’t seem to know how to express properly) that was to be expected with the Doctor, but there was none of the usual accompanying pity which he heated so much.

The Master closed his eyes and tilted his head back, he was in no mood to answer the Doctors questions about his dream. Reliving his time on Gallifrey, after being sucked through the time-lock and ‘back into hell’ as the Doctor had put it, once a night was enough. Slowly he pulled himself back together, tucking the memories away into the furthest depth of his mind. “Master” he heard the Doctor call his name, he knew the silence was too good to last. “What could be so terrible?” The Master let out a longsuffering sigh. And now, he thought, let the interrogation begin. ignoring the Doctors question, just stared pointedly past him as he silently swore that he would continue to do so.

This Doctor, the Master thought, though lacking in even basic social skills certainly made up for it with persistence. “Fine” he said, speaking for the first time that night. “They tortured me. On Gallifrey. After I was sucked through the time-lock. It went on for years, decades. I don’t know. They pushed me to the brink of regeneration and pulled me back. Over and over again. Happy now. I’ve told you. Now will you just leave me alone!” The Doctor had fallen silent. Good, he thought, quite at last. But soon that still, silence started to feel as if it was closing in on him and at times like these, he resorted to tapping out the familiar beat of the drums with his fingers. Even after years free of the noise in his head the repetitive rhythm of four still had a strangely comforting effect. So, he began to tap out the beat on his knee.

 

_THE DOCTORS POV_

  Strange, the Doctor thought. The Master had confirmed that that he was on longer hearing the drumming in his head. Yet, here hi was tapping out the drum beat against one knee. For awhile the Doctor just watched, in awe of how the Master kept the rhythm going without faltering once. With a sigh, the Doctor moved himself so that he could sit, back against the wall, next to the Master. They sat there as time stretched on, not quite touching, but close enough to feel the others body heat. The only sound to fill the room was the repetitive rhythm of four that the Master seemed to effortlessly keep going.

 

_MISSYS POV_

Missy woke to light filtering into the room. Yes, she thought, nothing like a good nights sleep. After a stretch she began to scan the room for her two roommates. First, she noticed that the pile of blankets where the Doctor had been sleeping where empty. But before she could think where he had got to, she heard a small snort from the opposite corner of the room and to her surprise, she found him. The doctor was fast asleep, his head resting on the shoulder of her past self, who in turn had his head resting on top of the Doctors. Always had been a sucker that one, she thought, a regeneration more vulnerable than most (having regenerated in the Doctors presence and his TARDIS). He laired on the malice extra thick to compensate. Still, they looked so cute, it she’d had a camera she would have taken a picture, too cute to wake. So, she decided to let them sleep and crept quietly downstairs to await the yelling that was sure to accompany there awakening. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are much appreciated as well as any suggestions for improvements or any mistakes you may find. Thank you for reading!!!!


End file.
